solo ttrpgs – Page 7 – PopCult Reviews

Solo Tabletop RPG Review & Actual Play – Solo Liminal Horror Part One

You can purchase Liminal Horror here
You can purchase Jeansen’s Machines here
You can download the Liminal Horror Solo Starter here

Liminal Horror is a game born out of a long series of deviations and hacks that started with the OSR game Into the Odd. Elements of that game were combined with rules-light fantasy RPG Knave which created Cairn. Cairn has become an all-purpose foundation for several other systems – Tunnel Goons, Eco Mofos, Into the Grasslands, and more. Liminal Horror is a modern horror system using these mechanics that lends itself to SCP-style stories, but it is not limited to that subset of horror.

Solo Tabletop RPG Actual Play – Supersworn: The Victory Academy Part Three

Read the previous chapter here.

[Begin a Session: Unexpected return of an enemy or threat]
Thread: The Machine Collective – Aiden Bell
Oracle: Defend Reputation

Aiden Bell is attended to by his personal physician, Dr. Carly Clayton, formerly known as the hero Aegis. Clayton tells Bell he appears to be okay but wants to know how he was able to change into Captain Quantum, given that he was supposed to have expunged the entity years ago. Bell spits at her with rage, throwing his food tray across the room.

“It was a filthy dirty trick by that bastard Silver Sentry!” spits Bell. “And I am going to destroy him!”

Solo Tabletop RPG Actual Play – Against the Wind Part Three

You can purchase Against the Wind here

Read about our previous session here.

This is my final actual play of Against the Wind for now, but I have to say this is one of the best solo systems I’ve played thus far. I love the tools of Ironsworn/Starforged, but I do feel it misses procedures that help create settings and situations sometimes. Against the Wind has such clearly written steps for building the world, creating NPCs, exploring the wilderness & settlements, and in this session dungeon delving. The tables are evocative enough without locking you into one path. I can definitely see myself returning to this one in the future.

Solo Tabletop RPG Actual Play – Supersworn: The Victory Academy Part Two

Read our previous chapter here.

[Begin a Session: External factors create new danger, urgency, or importance for a quest]

Thread: Time Cop on Patrol
Oracle: Strengthen Alliance

Tempus Wright is hurtling through the time stream and picks up an anomaly from the year 2080. He reroutes his journey to 2024 to make this stop further into the future. When he emerges, Forge City is in ruins, and strange cybernetic spires rise above a black cloud-choked sky.

Solo Tabletop RPG Actual Play – Against the Wind Part Two

You can purchase Against the Wind here

Read my first session here.

For our second session of Against the Wind, I wanted to try out the settlement building procedures. Like everything in this game, creating parts of the world is guided through dice rolls. The tables here cover everything from the angle of the streets and the number of intersections to how dense each block is. You’ll use tables to detail activity on the street and the purpose a building serves if you choose to enter one. I found it to organically build the community and provide many natural adventure hooks or set up potential NPCs to encounter again. Below is my second session playthrough, which ends with a clear direction for our third and final session.

Solo Tabletop RPG Actual Play – Supersworn: The Victory Academy Part One

This campaign started as a world-building exercise. Click here to see how we got to this point.

What has come before:

The Naxramman Alliance had its attempted invasion of Earth thwarted by the largest coalition of superhumans ever assembled. Even some villains bordering on antiheroes joined the fight to save their planet. Thousands of tons of wreckage litter the globe. Governments are attempting to secure it, some for good and others for ill. Supervillains and their minions are also grabbing up as much as they can.

The death of Silver Sentry signaled the end of The Silver Generation and the transition into the darker Bronze Generation. A battle with Bombardier left the android’s body in pieces. He was laid to rest by his family & friends, with his adopted human daughter taking on the mantle of The Silver Rose in her late father’s honor. Months ago, rumors that Sentry was alive again started to circulate. He was spotted in Hong Kong, Cape Town, and Rome. Other androids, robots, and AI all started to vanish. STRIKE believes Sentry is gathering these beings under something called The Machine Collective. Its purpose is unknown.

Aiden Bell used to be Captain Quantum, a child’s fantasy of a superhero. As a thirteen-year-old, he would blow the right notes on the quantum whistle and swap places with the alien super-being Quantum. Along the way, things went sour, but he’s in his fifties now and claims to have been reformed since then, or at least pretending to be. This rebranding has been so persuasive the city leaders have appointed Bell the headmaster of The Victory Academy. He’s interested in making this a pathway for young superheroes working directly for America’s institutions. The instructors at the Academy are highly suspicious of this move.

Solo Tabletop RPG Review & Actual Play – Against the Wind Part One

You can purchase Against the Wind here

I recently used Cezar Capacle’s excellent zine of tables Random Realities as part of my solo world-building for another series. I love the versatility and depth of those tools, so I thought I would try out this game system he’s put out, Against the Wind. This solo/co-op fantasy game is set in a wintery world ravaged by strong winds and brutal cold. The artwork leans heavily into classic fairy tale design, and the game complements that vibe. What I found in playing Against the Wind is a robust procedural system for solo play that feels like what an official version of solo Dungeon World might be like.

Solo Tabletop RPG Actual Play – Kids on Bikes Solo Part Five

You can purchase Kids on Bikes here.

You can purchase the Plot Unfolding Machine here.

Read our previous session here

(For this session, I will use the Powered Character rules for Waldo to reflect the change. The Powered Character gets 7 Power Tokens that can be spent to roll 1d6 each to add to a check roll. They only replenish with rest.)

(Powers for Waldo are

Heals others with a touch
Controls the elements – fire)

Scene 16 – Falling 1 of 3 – The Old Sykes House

Modified proposal: increase the intensity and tension
Action: Looking for some answers

Waldo’s eyelids flicker. Something has changed as he takes a breath. He can hear noise in the room. The ground beneath him is damp and dirt. Rita Hyde’s voice. Then Sally Gilliam’s, but weaker. The Mayor is there, too.

Solo Tabletop RPG – Worldbuilding: Becoming the Villain

You can purchase Becoming the Villain here.

Check our last session with Microscope here.

Becoming the Villain is a solo tabletop RPG that uses Tarot cards and prompts to fashion a villain’s origins. It can be a stand-alone bit of fun or used as part of a campaign’s worldbuilding. For our purposes, we’ll construct the main villain’s backstory in our solo superhero campaign. You’ll create elements that define your character, but those will change a lot through play, and by the end, what you started with will likely be completely different.

Solo Tabletop Actual Play – Kids on Bikes Solo Part Four

You can purchase Kids on Bikes here.

You can purchase the Plot Unfolding Machine here.

Read about our previous session here

Scene 10 – Rising Action 6 of 8 – Westgrove PD
Modified proposal: Make the location less favorable
Danger: Risk honor or reputation
Who: A political or reasonable person

Waldo is awakened in the early morning hours by Clem shouting at him. Reid is there too and also, Mayor Sartain. The Mayor looks irritated and starts screaming at Waldo.

“Where are the kids, Holman? Tell us, you fucking freak!” the Mayor rages. Reid steps between the Mayor and the bars of the cell.